In light of the new season, I determined who the greatest A10 player from each team is. The conference has seen a lot of talent come in while seeing quite a few teams move in and out of the shuffle over the years. You’ll see most of our current teams, with a few exceptions of the old A10 on this list.
However, there are a few rules:
-One-and-dones will not make this list. You have to have played at least two seasons for your school.
-Players who transferred into the conference will also not qualify for this list. You must be a homegrown talent.
DISCLAIMER: Loyola-Chicago will also not appear here since they have only played one season in the A10. And while Philip Alston is excellent, declaring him the best Rambler after one season doesn’t meet the criteria.
Without further ado, let’s run it.
Davidson- Peyton Aldridge
Kellan Grady was undoubtedly on my nominee list — he was even good enough to play at a blue-blood program in his last season — Peyton Aldridge edges him out because of the conference Player of the Year award he won in 2018. Like Grady, Aldridge achieved the 2,000-point mark for his career as a second and first-team selection for all-conference with a conference tournament MVP award. Aldridge and Grady powered a 2018 conference tournament victory, averaging 24 points on 86% from three across three A10 tournament games.
Dayton- Obi Toppin
I don’t know how much arguing I have to do for this one because Obi Toppin is by far the greatest Flyer ever in their A10 lifespan and possibly the best Flyer ever, depending on who you ask. Toppin’s 2019-20 season rivals some of the best single-season an individual A10 player ever had: He led a Dayton squad to the 3rd spot in the AP Poll, an undefeated regular season in-conference, and won the AP Player of the Year, Wooden & Naismith awards, and A10 Player of the Year. Unfortunately, we’ll never know what may have happened because this pandemic season altogether canceled the NCAA tournament.
Duquesne- Aaron Jackson
Duquesne hasn’t had the success you’d think in this league, given they are one of the original A10 teams and the first conference champion. I went with Aaron Jackson because he led one of Duquesne’s more impressive A10 seasons in 2008-09 when he was the conference’s most improved player. Jackson posted 19 points per game but showed value in the postseason. In the A10 tournament, Jackson led the 7th-seed Dukes to the championship game with 19.8 points, 5.5 assists on 50% shooting from range, and 62% overall from the field in four games. The Dukes would lose to Temple (who were in the middle of a three-peat) — Jackson’s March would continue when he posted 46 in their only NIT game against Virginia Tech.
Fordham- Bryant Dunston
By far the best A-10 player the Rams ever had, Dunston was an unstoppable force on offense and an immovable object on defense. He made four all-conference teams — three times on the second, one on the first — was the 2005 A10 rookie of the year, was all tourney in 2006, and closed his Fordham career as their all-time leader in blocks (293), fourth in rebounds (993), and second in points (1,832). He may not have the team success that those mid-2000s Fordham teams seemed destined for, but Dunston was (and still is) Fordham’s most excellent A-10 star. Not bad for a two-star prospect ranked outside the top 300 nationally.
George Mason- Josh Oduro
Oduro was the headliner of perhaps the most successful A10 unit the Patriots have had since joining in 2013. The final season of Kim English was a 20-win year where Oduro led the team in scoring for the second consecutive season. He was the first multi-time selection to all-conference teams and the first in school history to make the first team twice. Oduro graduated sixth all-time in blocks (119) and would surpass the 1,000-point mark. He would follow English to Providence but ended up as the best Patriot in their A10 lifespan and kickstarted the program’s revival.
George Washington- Shawnta Rogers
Rogers may stand at 5’4”, but he was a 1,700+ point scorer and vital to their success in the late 90s. Rogers was a three-time member of the all-defensive team and made the third, second, and first team as an all-conference selection while taking home A10 Player of the Year in 1998-99 — he also took home the Frances Pomery Naismith award, which is awarded to the best college player under 6’. Rogers’ team success also pushed him over the top in this race — three of his four seasons he led the Revolutionaries to the A-10 regular season title and three at-large bids to the NCAA tournament.
La Salle- Steven Smith
Contrary to popular belief, the Explorers have had a handful of quality Atlantic 10-level talent. I could have chosen Rasual Butler or Ramon Galloway, but Smith is the winner. He was EXTREMELY annoying to play against because he would go off every game. Smith had two single-digit scoring games in his final two seasons at La Salle. He was the repeat A10 player of the year in 2005 and 2006, twice made the all-A10 first team, and was a third-team selection in 2004. He was the bane of my existence as a young Fordham fan — I still get PTSD when someone talks about him to this day.
Massachusetts- Marcus Camby
UMass has had some terrific players over the years, and I was close to putting Jim McCoy/Lou Roe on here, but “The Camby Man” stands alone as the greatest Minuteman ever in their A10 history. His junior season may be the most outstanding single season a player has ever had in A10 history: Camby was the ‘95-’96 A10 player of the year, all-A10 first team, AP player of the year, first team all-American, the Naismith award winner, Rupp trophy winner, USBWA player of the year, Wooden award winner, and led UMass to the Final Four with an all-region selection along the way — along with being third all-time at UMass in blocks with 336.
Rhode Island- Tyson Wheeler
Rhode Island has had great players in its A10 lifespan, but I decided on Tyson Wheeler. Wheeler sits second all-time in points at URI with 1,918 and first all-time in assists with 718 — he also boasts three all-A10 selections to his name, two consecutive picks on the first team, and two all-tourney selections in the A10 tournament. Wheeler is most known for leading the 1997-98 Rhode Island team to the elite eight, in which they lost to Stanford but included an upset of the Kansas Jayhawks in round two — a team led by Larry Brown and Paul Pierce. Wheeler’s efforts would earn him an All-Region pick for that year’s NCAA tournament.
Richmond- Jacob Gilyard
This race was much closer than I expected, given how much talent these guys have had in their A10 history. Grant Golden, Kevin Anderson, Kendall Anthony, and Tyler Burton were all in consideration — but none of them are Jacob Gilyard. Gilyard is a four-time member of the A10 all-defensive team, a five-time selection for the all-A10 teams (a third team, two-second teams, and two first teams), the 2019-20 A10 defensive player of the year, was tournament MVP in 2022 during Richmond’s magical run, a 2,000 point scorer, the NCAA’s all-time leader in steals (466), first all-time at Richmond in assists (782), and the A10’s fifth all-time leader in made threes (332).
Saint Joseph’s- Jameer Nelson
“Goat-meer” runs away with this award as the greatest Hawk ever at Hawk Hill, and it’s all because of 2003-04: Nelson and head coach Phil Martelli drove the birds to the 5th spot in the AP poll and an appearance in the elite eight. Nelson individually would make his third straight all-A10 first-team win A10 Player of the Year, but it didn’t stop there. Nelson would walk away with the Naismith Award, Wooden Award, Rupp Trophy, the Bob Cousy Award, NABC Division One Player of the Year, the AP Player of the Year, and was a first-team all-American. He ended his career as SJU’s all-time leader in points (2,904), assists (713), and steals (256) in the undefeated season.
Saint Louis- Dwayne Evans
Yuri Collins was certainly in contention for this, and Jordair Jett won the A10 Player of the Year in 2013-14 and is considered one of the greatest defensive players ever in the A10. Dwayne Evans, however, was the engine for Billiken’s run from 2012 to 2014. Those Rick Majerus/Jim Crews-coached teams were lethal defensively — possibly the best defensive teams in the conference’s history. Evans led the team in rebounding as both a sophomore and junior, then scoring as a junior and senior, earning him two-straight all-A10 first-team nods. Evans also helped power three straight seasons of second-round appearances in the NCAA tournament, two regular season titles, and a conference tournament victory where he won tournament MVP in 2013.
Saint Bonaventure- Andrew Nicholson
There have been great St. Bonaventure teams over the years under Mark Schmidt’s reign. Without question, Andrew Nicholson takes the cake as the best A10 talent ever to come out of Olean. It took until his senior year to have a champion squad, but Nicholson was spectacular in his time at Bonaventure. The 2008-09 A10 Rookie of the Year would turn in three straight all-conference nods — his junior and senior season being on the first team — and the 2011-12 conference Player of the Year award to go along with his A10 tournament MVP, which then turned into him being the 19th pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
Temple- Mark Macon
“Shaking and Baking” is still the all-time leading scorer in the A10 with 2,609 career points. He was a second-team Consensus All-American as a freshman in 1987-88 and was the headliner of the most fabulous Temple team that John Chaney led, plus in the same season when he led his charges to a first-place finish in the poll and the elite eight — Macon would bring the Owls there again in 1991 as a senior. He was awarded A10 Player of the Year in 1990, garnered four first-team all-A10 selections, won A10 tournament MVP when the Owls won the league in 1990, and was a three-time all-tourney selection.
Xavier- David West
This is not a contest by any stretch of the imagination. David West is the greatest A10 player ever and perhaps the most outstanding player in Xavier’s history. West has two consensus All-American selections — one on the second team and one on the first — was the player of the year in 2003, won the Rupp trophy, earned three A-10 player of the year awards, three all-A10 first-team selections, A-10 tournament MVP, a two-time NBA all-star… do I need to keep going???
VCU- Adrian Baldwin Jr.
“Ace” won this race because of his achievements before jumping to Penn State: winning conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. That was the first time since 2006-07 someone achieved those feats. The other three are Pepe Sanchez, David West, and Stephane Lasame. Ace also led the VCU machine to a conference tournament title in 2023, their first since 2015, and was the most stable presence on the team. Treveon Graham and Briante Weber, though all-time greats, did spend one season in CAA before VCU joined the A10, which disqualified them from this list.
